Love is not simple
by Karmen2210
Summary: Naruto has lost Sasuke, again. Hinata wishes there was something she could do to help but feels useless. Sakura, however, seems to think otherwise. *spoilers*
1. Confession

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... though I wish I owned Gaara... dreamy sigh

I do plan to make this a three part series but I haven't decided yet.

SPOILERS!! (mild)

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Hinata could feel her heart breaking in her chest as she gazed at the blonde ninja she both cherished and admired. They were too late. Sasuke had been taken away by the absurdly powerful ninja wearing that mask. They were so close this time and, if what they heard was true, Sasuke had accomplished his goal and defeated his brother so maybe, just maybe, he would have returned with them to the village and the team that he had left behind. There was nothing she wanted more than to help the boy in front of her but she felt so helpless right now.

"Na… Naruto-kun…" she whispered softly.

Tears fell down the sides of his face. Tears of pain and frustration that were mirrored by the tears on the face of his remaining team mate, now at his side. Sakura rested her hand on Naruto's shoulder, her other hand clenched tightly in a fist.

"This isn't over yet Naruto… we'll find that masked creep and force him to tell us what happened to Sasuke…" He nodded his head and placed his hand over the one on his shoulder.

"Yeah, one way or another… we won't give up yet." He dried his eyes but the brightness and the determination had not returned.

Everyone remained quiet for a moment longer before Kakashi spoke up. "Alright, listen up, everyone split up and search the area for any information that may be of some use. You have 20 minutes then we meet back here and return to Konoha to report and regroup." His set his gaze squarely on Sakura and Naruto "No exceptions. Now, head out."

Anger flashed in Naruto's eyes for a brief second before he disappeared with the others searching for something, anything, Sakura at his side. Hinata bit back the pain in her chest at seeing how close the two had become. It was only natural that the two would bond with their mutual pain. She saw her chance at ever being with Naruto floating away beyond her reach.

Focusing her attention back on the task at hand, determined to do anything that she could to help her friend, her love, she activated her Byakugan and scoured the area in intense detail.

20 minutes passed quickly and the group gathered. One look around showed not a hint of hopefulness and they knew without asking that no one was successful in finding a clue to the fate of their missing comrade. They followed Kakashi back to the village without a word of either acknowledgement or protest. At the gate they headed their separate ways, Kakashi and Yamato going to speak with the Hokage and the others to their respective homes. Sakura and Sai however stayed with Naruto, providing silent companionship. Hinata hesitated a moment, a look of pain and longing crossing her features as she gave a quick glace to Naruto before leaving them alone. The look was lost to Naruto and Sai but not to Sakura.

Hinata didn't head home like the others but headed instead to her favorite training grounds. Here she freely released all her pent up emotions. The pain she felt for both herself and for Naruto and the self loathing at being jealous of Sakura at such a time were released in a torrent of blows on the post in front of her. She was so absorbed in her attacks that she never noticed the pink hair kunoichi appear in the clearing behind her. Sakura watch quietly for a time before she called out to her.

"Hinata…?" Her voice was quiet but it visibly startled Hinata as she spun around and stared wide eyed at Sakura.

"Y..yes,… Sakura?"

Sakura waited a moment in silence, trying to decide how to say what she wanted, "Why don't you tell him how you feel, Hinata? I don't know if he'll return your feelings but at the very least you won't pine away wondering what could happen if you'd just had the courage to say something."

She watched Hinata carefully letting her words settle in. At first a blush lit up her face like it was on fire and her mouth fell open in shock. Sakura waited patiently while she stumbled over her words for a few minutes before anything understandable came out.

"Was it… is it… that obvious?"

Sakura nodded her head and watched the blue haired girls face panic for a moment, completely unsure of what to do.

"But it won't be to him. Hints will never get you what you want when it comes to him." Hinata's face changed to a look calm sadness, her eyes filled with despair.

"I… I can't… I couldn't… He, he loves you Sakura."

She refused to meet Sakura's eyes which were at the moment glaring daggers at her. Sakura had little patience for the lack of confidence and her temper got the better of her.

"Then you must not want him as badly as I thought if you are unwilling to fight for him. Forget it! I don't want you to even tell him unless you really mean it. I will not watch the only team mate I have left become heartbroken by your half-assed love!"

Hinata gasped her shocked eyes connecting with the angry ones in front of her.

"No… I… I didn't mean… it's just, just that…" She didn't know what to say. She had been trying for years to become stronger and more confident so she could do just as Sakura said, fight for him, but she just hadn't be able to. She wanted to tell him so badly it felt she was going to explode but she was terrified and wasn't even sure she could stay conscious long enough to get the words out.

"It's just that you're scared." Sakura finished for her. Sakura took a deep breath and remembered back to when she herself had almost no confidence. Sakura's green eyes softened as Hinata's eyes filled with tears and she nodded her head, looking away from Sakura again.

"Hinata, you want to help him don't you? I can't say for sure if he will return your feelings or if anything will come from you telling him but I know for sure that if he knows that someone loves him the way you do it may keep him from the depression he is falling into. He needs to feel as though he's worth something and I can see that in your eyes he means everything. Tell him. The worst that will happen is he will say that he only sees you as a friend. You know as well as I do that he'd never say or do anything to intentionally hurt you."

Hinata remained quiet. She knew that was Sakura had said was true, she's said the same thing to herself may times but for some reason it soothed her fears to hear it come from the mouth of someone else.

"Do you… do you really think… that now is the time to tell him?"

Sakura nodded her head quickly knowing that the girl in front of her would never tell him if she thought her feelings would be a bother.

"I will come with you to his apartment. Sai is there now. I'll get him out of the way so you can speak with Naruto alone."

Hinata's stutter came back full force and her face turned a dark crimson with the blush.

"Y...you…me…mean…now!?"

"Yes, right now. There's no better time." She grabbed Hinata's hand and started dragging her in the right direction and even after she started following without resistance she still she held tightly to her hand to keep the panicked girl from running away on her.

When they reached the door of his apartment Sakura turned and looked Hinata over quickly. She looked like she was about to pass out which wouldn't do anyone any good. She placed both her hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the face.

"Hinata, you can do this. You have trained hard and become a fierce shinobi. No matter what happens you can not back down and give up on what you want!"

Sakura's words hit home with Hinata, reminding her of the promise she made to herself. _"I will not back down, never again."_

Sakura smirked as she saw the determination come into Hinata's eyes and knocked on the door before she could change her mind. Sai answered and looked curiously at the two women in front of him.

"Oh, Sai. I don't believe you've met before. This is Hinata Hyuga. Hinata this is Sai. He is the newest addition to our team."

Hinata bowed her head, "A pleasure to meet you, Sai." He smiled at her and was about to say something when Sakura quickly covered his mouth not trusting him to say anything that might damage Hinata's fragile determination.

"Hinata came to see how Naruto was doing. Why doing we go and pick up some Ramen for everyone and we can all have dinner together?" She never gave Sai a chance to reply and simply dragged him out of the apartment and called over her shoulder to Hinata "Go on in and keep Naruto company while we're gone!"

Hinata stared after them for a moment in shock before turning back to the open apartment door. She could feel her legs shaking under her and seriously thought about running away now that Sakura could no longer hold her in place.

"_I will not back down, never again." _

The words she spoke to herself back then reverberated through her head and she clenched her fist tightly in determination before walking into the apartment and closing the door quietly behind her.

She looked around herself taking in the tiny apartment before her eyes landed on the very person she was so determined to talk to. He was looking at her silently, confusion clear in his blue eyes.

"Na… Naruto-kun?" she murmured barely above a whisper.

"Hinata-chan? What are you doing here?" his voice held little of the strength that she so commonly associated with him. He sounded so unsure of himself it almost brought tears to her eyes.

She hesitated a moment, looking back at the door, before fixing her gaze on him and walking over to him. He was sitting on the edge of his bed and scooted over to make room for her to sit. She blushed for a moment but kept repeating her promise to herself over and over in her head, calming her raging heart. She sat down next to him and tried to meet his eyes but failed quickly and let her gaze drift to her feet.

"Are you alright Hinata-chan?" There was a soft note of concern in his voice that made her heart beat quicken again. It took her a while to compose herself but Naruto being in his current state waited patiently for a change for her to reply.

"Y…yes, Naruto-kun. I am alright." She was focusing intently on keeping herself from stuttering too badly as she collected the words she had been holding inside for years.

"There is… something I've wanted to tell you, Naruto-kun." She tried to lift her gaze to meet his eyes as she told him but it was no use they stayed firmly planted on the floor.

"For… a long time now… I've… well… I … love you, Naruto-kun." Unable to take her eyes from the floor she didn't know how to take his silence to what she had just said so she continued on.

"I just… wanted you to know… I will always… be there for you… because, I love you." She let out a long breath but still, he did not reply. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes but she held them at bay.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered and went to stand up but his hand instantly grabbed her wrist and held her in place. She finally turned her gaze to meet his and saw tears running down his face. He slowly pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly.

"Please," he said,"Please, don't be sorry. Thank you, Hinata-chan."

Slowly she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back and burying her face into his shoulder and crying with him. After a while Naruto pulled away from her and lifted her chin so she would look him in the eyes. Slowly he brought his lips down to meet hers in a soft kiss. When he pulled away he smiled at the dazed look in her eyes before he let a different sort of sadness consume him.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan. I don't know if I feel the same… I've never thought about it. But, right now, what is most important to me is bringing home my team mate."

Hinata nodded sadly but put a brave smile on for show.

"I understand Naruto-kun. I believe in you. Someday you will be a wonderful Hokage." She hadn't stuttered at all and it made both of them smile.

"Yes…" he said slowly before his bright smile that she loved so much shone through again, "Yes, I will be Hokage and finding Sasuke is only the first step!" He looked at her seriously after that. "Hinata-chan, promise me that even if I can't return your feelings that you will continue to do the best that you can and in return I'll promise to do the best that I can so we can both reach our goals."

Hinata smiled slowly and nodded.

"Yes, I promise."

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Please R&R! Thank you !


	2. Note

Hello Everyone.

I have written a part two to this and have uploaded it as a new story. The reason for this being that I have changed the pairing. The pairing for part two will be Kiba/Hina.

Please visit my profile if you wish to read it, however, if you are not a fan of the new pairing then please let part one be the end of the story for you.

I hope you enjoyed this story and will continue to enjoy the second. Please R&R.

Much love to all my readers,  
Karmen


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